Cardiomyopathy is a little understood condition in which the muscle tissue of the heart becomes diseased. There are several distinct forms of cardiomyopathy that may or may not be similar in origin. Medical treatment consists mainly of medications that attempt to compensate for the increasing failure of the heart to function properly. A heart transplant may ultimately be necessary.

Proposed Natural Treatments for Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is certainly not a disease that you should treat yourself! For this reason, we deliberately do not discuss dosage or safety issues in this section, although general guidelines can be found in the articles on these substances.

Coenzyme Q
10

In a 6-year trial, 143 people with moderately severe cardiomyopathy were given CoQ
10
daily in addition to standard medical care.
4
The results showed a significant improvement in cardiac function (technically, ejection fraction) in 84% of the study participants. Most of them improved by several stages on a scale that measures the severity of heart failure (technically, NYHA class). Furthermore, a comparison with individuals on conventional therapy alone appeared to show a reduction in mortality.

This study was an
open trial
, meaning that participants knew that they were being treated, and such studies are not fully reliable. There have been a few
double-blind, placebo-controlled
trials of CoQ
10
in cardiomyopathy as well. One such trial followed 80 people with various forms of cardiomyopathy over a period of 3 years.
5
Of those treated with CoQ
10
, 89% improved significantly, but when the treatment was stopped, their heart function deteriorated.

No benefit was seen in another double-blind study, but it was a smaller and shorter trial and enrolled only people who had one particular type of cardiomyopathy (idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy).
6

For more information on coenzyme Q
10
, including dosage and safety issues, see the full
coenzyme Q
10
article.

Carnitine

A small amount of evidence indicates that the vitamin-like supplement carnitine may be useful in cardiomyopathy.
8,9
For more information on carnitine, including dosage and safety issues, see the full
carnitine
article.

Herbs and Supplements to Use Only with Caution

Various herbs and supplements may interact adversely with drugs used to treat Cardiomyopathy. For more information on these potential risks, see the individual drug article in the
Drug Interactions
section of this database.